March 13, 2006

A Young Athlete with Heart: Before he died of a rare heart condition, 11-year-old Canadian hockey player Chase McEachern had one wish he expressed in a letter to Don Cherry: "make defibrillators mandatory in hockey arenas and schools everywhere."

What a truly moving story. My question is why don't they have the defrib's in the schools now? The first thing that pops into my head is that they probably think that since they're kids, they wouldn't need them because heart ailments occur in adults...

I couldn't help but notice during a recent trip to the US that you guys have those things everywhere - airports, golf clubs, restaurants even. My dad was telling me there was a move at home to have them installed in all golf clubs. The prime reason for not doing so is the thought of some clueless muppet administering a massive dose of electricity to some poor soul completely incorrectly.

The Men’s over 30 league in our hockey association was successful in getting deliberators placed in both of our rinks. The cost has come way down over the past couple of years for them (Under $1000 US) & they are pretty much idiot proof. The machine will not work unless it measures a need for the jolt. I feel by all means every school should have one. Juri Fisher of the Red Wings comes to mind……………….

Yep - I think much in the same way the poor unfortunate girl in Columbus helped make the netting used in arenas mandatory; Jiri Fischer and this obviously thoughtful boy will help make the defibrilators mandatory as well. And really, it's not just for the athletes. I mean, have you seen the size of people lumbering around these days? I'm surprised more hearts aren't just jumping out of people's chests, giving them the finger and walking away. Talk about having to work too hard. These just as easily could be the difference in saving the life of a fan or parent.

I'm working on getting involved with this myself, as I own a hockey memorabilia store in Barrie. If my idea flies, I'll share it with you all here when we get started. I covered the movement to get these devices in schools in Indiana a couple of years ago. They're inexpensive, safe and lifesavers. What's the tough decision?

What's the tough decision? "wfrazerjr" ...some clueless muppet administering a massive dose of electricity to some poor soul completely incorrectly. "JJ" ...they probably think that since they're kids, they wouldn't need them because heart ailments occur in adults... "wingnut4life" I think that these statements can tell you what everybody thinks/has thought about defib's. Weedy summed it all up -- nobody will notice or step up unless someone gets hurt or killed. I for one am guilty of this. I don't even know if there are defib's in my kids' school. So, in essence, this brave little boy inspired rcade to post this, which in turn inspired me to be more active in my community. Thank you, Chase.

i think that it is truly stupid when they do not have those things in public areas, it is a real risk for kids and adults as well when the managers of public places do not have the consideration to have them around just because it may start a panic, but in truth i think it would be a much larger and widespread panic if people started dying because they could not get the proper first aid when they needed it. It is a really simple matter: The more of these things that are around the more lives there will be that are saved

We have one at my job. They are idiot-proof. There isn't really a chance that you could hurt someone with it because it measures the heart beat of the person and it has a lot less power than a hospital one.

rcade, I just checked around on the net and every one that I looked at had voice instructions that you follow, and it guides you through everything, even when to shock and not to shock. Just like bperk said, "Idiot-proof."

Nothing is 100% idiot proof. We're building much better and stronger idiots by the day. Someone will manage to screw this up and start a building fire or use it on a random cat if they're everywhere. No reason not to do it, just saying is all.

rcade: I've had the unfortunate pleasure of actually having to use one of these and they are truly as about idiot proof as you could make them. In fact the one thing I remember the most from my experience is that I wanted it to give the instructions more quickly. I would argue zero training is required, but I was a lifeguard at the time and had been trained on the device so I might be a little biased. That being said CPR works very well in conjunction with a defib. While CPR will help keep you alive it will almost never 're-start' / 'restore' your hearts normal rhythm. A defib however is designed to do just that. Put the two together and you can really make a huge difference. bperk/Weedy: You should see how many joules a friggin' cockroach can take before it bites the dust.

You should see how many joules a friggin' cockroach can take before it bites the dust. What can you expect from a bug that can live two weeks without its head. I've never had to use a defib but in CPR class last year they basically told us some steps which included using the thing if a person's heart stopped beating, but did not tell us how to use it. That I guess sends a message that the things are idiot proof, though I've seen people who would probably be utterly incapeable of operating it.